


Resistance Fighters

by Joylee



Series: Politics and Passion [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Halloween, Rumbelle is Hope, Star Wars References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-11 08:01:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16471823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joylee/pseuds/Joylee
Summary: On Halloween Belle French, star reporter, is contacted by a small but resourceful ally who aids her in over coming a major obstacle in her developing relationship with former political operative Rumford Gold





	Resistance Fighters

She was slogging her way through the report from the Congressional Budget Office on its most recent iteration of the Social Security Trust Fund projections when the personalized ring tone she had assigned to Rum rang. 

Ever since there had ceased to be a conflict of interest between Rumford Gold and herself because he had left his position as Chief Political Adviser to Senator Margaret Blanchard-Nolan and become a University Professor so as to be in a position to care for his little boy, she and he had been involved. Between her hours on the Congressional and National News beat and his responsibilities as sole parent of a seven year old, however, their time together was stolen in bits and pieces when they could both sneak away for a few hours.

Which he had not been expecting to be able to do on Halloween. It was Bae’s first Halloween in America and to say he was excited was understating it considerably.

“I’ll be glad to see November.” Rum had confessed to her Saturday night over take out Chinese eaten in bed. His sitter was only available until 11:00, so they were having one of their ‘stay in’ nights to take full advantage of what little time they had. “The boy’s been able to talk about nothing but Halloween and trick-or-treat for the last two weeks. I just hope the reality doesn’t disappoint him too badly.”

“It’s hard to be disappointed when possessed of a bag of chocolate.” Belle had reassured him. “Do you have his costume ready?”

“Aye. There will not be a more authentically costumed Finn this side of Hollywood.” Gold smiled. “All those amateur theatricals Aunt Maggie forced me to help with the costuming on finally came in useful. I had to promise the women at the fabric store I’d bring him by so they could see the finished version.” 

So she had not been expecting to hear from Rum tonight. “Hey, honey, what’s up?”

“Belle?” A small voice softly questioned.

“Bae? Is that you? Is something wrong?” Belle started to save her work and clear off her desk.

“Papa’s leg hurts.” The voice stayed soft.

“Does he need...” Belle was not sure what he might need. Rum downplayed any trouble he might have with his leg, despite his use of a cane. “… help?”

“He says that we can still go trick-or-treating, but he took a pain pill.”

“Okay... Why are you whispering?” Belle asked.

“So he can’t hear me.” Clearly Bae thought this should have been self-evident to her. “It’s bad for him to walk when his leg hurts.”

“So you don’t think he should take you out?” Belle deduced. “Do you want me to talk to him?”

“Could _you_ take me? Then Papa wouldn’t have to walk.”

“Uhm, I guess.” Belle was surprised. She and Bae had not had that much interaction. Rum had been deliberately moving slowly on introducing her into Bae’s life. There had been issues with his mother’s boyfriend that Rum was afraid might make him reluctant to accept his father’s new relationship. 

Except he had apparently decided to initiate contact all on his own. “What time do you want me to come over?”

“Papa says we’re going to go right after supper. Around six.”

“So I should get there a little before six.” Belle added conspiratorially. “I’ve got the perfect costume to go with Finn. We’ll have a great time.”

 

5:45 found her ringing the doorbell of the Golds’ pink (Rum maintained it was salmon) Victorian. She then dropped back a few steps and struck a pose.

Rum opened the door with a “And what have we here… Belle? Wow!”

He was considerably more excited by her appearance than a man having a blaster pointed at his chest should be. Looking her up and down with interest, he took in her classic A New Hope Princess Leia costume, complete with the mouse ears hair style. (The buns were a little small. She had not had any extensions to pad them out.) Grinning he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Don’t shoot, your Highness.”

“Just hand over the chocolate and no one needs to get hurt.” She lower the blaster and grinned.

“You look _fantastic_.” Rum told her. Glancing back toward the entrance way, he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. “Not that I’m complaining, but to what do I owe pleasure?”

“Bae asked me to come trick-or-treat with him.” She slipped her blaster strap over her shoulder to free up her hands and at his gesture proceeded Gold into the house.

“ _Bae_ asked you?” 

Keeping her voice low, she told him. “He didn’t want you walking around with him while your leg hurts, so he called me and asked me to take him around tonight.”

As Rum blinked at her taking this in she added quickly. “I’m happy to do it. As you can see I’m all set for Halloween.”

“How did he...” Then he patted the pockets of his jacket. Coming up empty he called up the stairs. “Baden Neal Gold, come down here!”

The boy came dashing down the stairs. “Belle! You made it. Oh, wow! That’s perfect! Finn and Leia! We can...”

His father interrupted him. “Bae, did you take my phone to call Belle?”

Bae pulled the phone from his pocket and silently handed it over. 

“Why, Bae?”

“I couldn’t use the landline without you hearing me.” Bae explained reasonably.

Gold rubbed his face and sat down on the step. “Why did you feel that you needed to call Belle to start with?”

Bae looked sheepish. “Cause I want to go all the way to Miss Ginger’s. To show her my costume and all the kids say she gives out fudge to the kids she knows. And that’s a long walk. Your leg’s been bothering you all week. If you walk that far it will only get worse. Ava and Nicholas are going to trick-or-treat with their grandparents in Georgetown and Morraine’s family doesn’t do Halloween. So I couldn’t ask them. But Belle likes Star Wars too, so I thought maybe she could take me.”

“Come here, son.” Gold put an arm around the boy as he sat down next to him on the step. “Bae, I’m the parent here. It’s my job to look after you and that includes deciding what activities we can and cannot do. You do not need to worry and second guess whether I should do something.”

Except Rum had stretched out his leg as he was speaking as though to ease it. Belle held back her comment. It would not do for her to interfere with Gold’s parenting.

Besides Bae seemed prepared to argue her point for her. “But sometimes you do try to do more than you should. And teacher always says that we should take other people’s limitations into account. And make accom… accom...”

“Accommodations.” Gold supplied.

“Yeah, accommodation for them.” Bae nodded. “Like getting books down off the high shelves for kids in wheel chairs and seeing if Belle would walk with me. Cause your leg hurts when the weather is getting bad and Belle doesn’t mind walking and really likes Star Wars. See, she’s even got her own costume.”

“It’s no trouble.” Belle put in quickly. “It gives me an excuse to get in on the fun.”

“My _point_ ,” Gold sounded a bit put upon, “Is that you need to know you can count on me to be there when you need me, Bae. If I say I can do something I will do it.”

“Well, yeah.” Bae responded. “You’re not Mum. But that’s for big stuff that only you can do. Like coming to get me when Mum decided to go do documentaries. This is just trick-or-treating. It doesn’t matter who I walk with.

“Uhm, not that Belle doesn’t matter.” Bae hurriedly added. “She’s cool.”

“And was very thoughtful to offer to take you.” Gold added in a meaningful tone.

“Thank you for being wiling to take me trick-or-treating, Belle.” Bae told her.

He even managed to sound sincere, despite the prompting. “You’re very welcome, Bae. I’m looking forward to it.”

“You’re sure this isn’t putting you out?” Rum asked.

“Are you kidding? This saves me from a night of reading CBO projections on the Social Security Trust. I’m thrilled.”

“All right.” Gold sighed. “Since I’m outnumbered the two of you can go without me. Now finish putting on your costume.”

As Bae ran back up the stairs, Rum looked up at her from his seat on the step. “Do we need to talk about my ankle as well?”

Sitting down next to him she told him. “I think it would be good at some point for you to go over with me what your limitations are and whatever meds you take just so I know, but it’s not something I’m concerned about. 

“You do just fine with the physical activity I’m most interested in.” She patted his thigh as she gave him a leer.

“So you just want me for my cock, huh?” He glanced quickly up the stairs to make sure Bae was not within earshot.

“Well, not _just_ for your cock.” She snuggle in next to him. “But it’s definitely a nice perk.”

They kissed for a moment. Then reluctantly pulled back. Rum checked the stairs again. “I don’t suppose we could just give the kid all the candy I bought for the trick-or-treaters, turn off the lights and stay home? Cause I _really_ like that costume.”

“Were you one of those fanboys who fantasized over Princess Leia?” She teased.

“She did factor into some of my more interesting dreams when I was thirteen or so.” Rum grinned at her.

“Play your cards right and I might be persuaded to let you rescue me some time. But tonight we better keep it PG for Bae.”

“Aye.” He sighed. “Let me give you the addresses for the fabric store and Miss Ginger’s. Start with those. Despite his intentions I don’t know how far he’s actually going to be able make it tonight.”

“You should still put on your costume. Bae will expect it even if you’re just handing out candy.”

“I already have.” He was wearing a Black Lives Matter tee shirt under one of his suit coats. With a button reading ‘Net Neutrality Now!’.

“Okay.” She was missing it. “What are you supposed to be?” 

“I’m a member of the Resistance.” He grinned.

Chuckling she said. “I should have gotten that. Did you explain it to Bae?”

“Didn’t need to. I seem to be raising a political junkie.”

 

As it turned out Bae made it almost all the way through route he planned out. It helped that Belle insisted on driving to the fabric store and Miss Ginger’s. The store clerks at the fabric store, dressed as the blue and pink faeries from Sleeping Beauty, were effusive over Bae’s costume. “Rumford did a fantastic job. Why if you didn’t know better you’d be certain those were real boots.”

As the blue fairy helped Bae to his choice from the candy bowl, the pink one inquired of Belle, “Did Rumford make your costume as well?”

“Uhm, no, I got this for a con awhile ago.” Belle told her.

“This is Belle.” Bae remembered his manners now that he had a handful of chocolate. “She’s Papa’s girlfriend.”

“Lucky Belle.” The blue fairy smirked.

Back in the car Belle had to ask, “Uh, Bae, did your father say I was his girlfriend?”

Which earned her a ‘grown ups are weird’ look. “No, but you go out every Saturday. Aren’t you his girlfriend?”

Points to the kid for deduction. “You okay with that? Your father said you didn’t like your Mum having a boyfriend.”

“I don’t like Mum having _Killian_ for a boyfriend.” Bae made a face. “He pretends to be nice to me, but only to make Mum like him more. Everything always has to be about him.

“You really listen when I talk to you.” Bae went on. “And don’t talk over my head when I’m around.

“You do like Papa, don’t you?” He sounded worried.

“I like your Papa very much.” Belle assured him. “And I’d like us to be friends. And not just cause your father isn’t going to have a girlfriend that you don’t like.”

So Belle was rather pleased when they got to Miss Ginger’s house and she was introduced as “My friend, Belle.”

Miss Ginger after expressing suitable appreciation of Bae’s costume, and by extension Belle’s, fed them homemade fudge and hot tea (herbal, caffeine was not apparently permitted within Miss Ginger’s Colonial) to fortify them for further trick-or-treating. “And I’ve wrapped up some fudge for you to take home to your father. Tell him if the damp continues to bother his leg I have a plaster that might help him.”

Fifteen blocks later, the plastic BB-8 that was holding Bae’s candy collection was two-thirds full and his steps were starting to lag even if his enthusiasm for getting more candy was not. “Time to head for home I think.” Belle told him.

“I guess.” Bae agreed reluctantly. “It’s a school night, and Papa said if trick-or-treating interfered with school tomorrow I wouldn’t be able to go next year.”

“We can hit a few houses on the way home.” Belle promised him.

That perked him up. “Yeah, we need to stop at Emrys and Nimue’s so they can see my costume.”

Emrys proved to be a large, very good looking black man, dressed in Finn’s Stormtrooper costume, who on seeing them on his porch announced, “Hey, Finn, give me five, little bro!”

“Oh, that is a wonderful costume!” A woman, presumably Nimue, dressed as Lt. Uhura cooed.

While the woman dropped several pieces of candy into Bae’s BB-8, Emrys introduced himself and his wife. He told Belle proudly. “We’re a mixed marriage. Star Wars and Star Trek. Where’s Gold?”

“We made him stay home to give his leg a rest.” Belle told him.

“You have him call me if it’s really bothering him.” Emrys told her. “I don’t usually make house calls, but Gold’s doing parenting right. World needs more little white boys who want to be Finn with Papa’s who encourage them.”

They were withing a block of the house when it started to rain. A race to the porch kept either of them from getting too wet.

Gold welcomed them home with hot cider. Which they sipped as they sorted through Bae’s candy haul. On the whole the boy had done pretty well.

“The candy corn isn’t as bad as everyone makes it out to be. But I don’t like these marshmallow filled things at all.” Bae said. “The chocolate bars are all good, even if there isn’t any toffee.”

“I don’t think Yanks care much for toffee.” Belle told him. “I never see it even in the sweet shops.”

“Time for you to get to bed.” Gold told him “Your candy will still be here tomorrow. Did you thank Belle for taking you trick-or-treating?”

“Thank you for going trick-or-treating with me, Belle.” Bae came round and gave her a hug. “It was fun.’

“Thank you for asking me.” Belle told him. “I don’t get to dress up often.

“And your Papa really likes my costume.” She grinned at Gold. Who in turn leered at her over Bae’s head.

Just then lightening flash nearby and thunder rocked the house. Gold frowned. “Storm’s getting worse. I don’t think you should try to drive home any time soon.”

“Yeah, but I have work tomorrow. That CBO report isn’t going to decipher itself.” 

“How did a reporter of your stature get stuck with that story?”

“Cause I’m the only one my editor can trust to actually read the da… darn thing.” She told him.

Bae was not to be sidetracked. “We get up early. So you’d have plenty of time to get to work. You could even stay for breakfast. Papa makes really good eggs in a basket. You can sleep with him. It’s a big bed.”

There had been more crashes of thunder while they talked. She was feeling less inclined to drive home, but thought Rum would feel uncomfortable sharing a bed with Bae in the house. So Belle suggested. “Or I could sleep on the couch.”

“It’s not a very comfortable couch.” Rum said dryly. He nodded at Bae. “My objection was mainly worry about his reaction, but since he’s okay about it…”

“In that case I’d be delighted to stay for breakfast.” Belle grinned, as Rum pushed Bae toward the stairs. When she thought the boy was far enough away not to hear, she added. “And Princess Leia might just need rescuing tonight by a brave resistance fighter.”

The End


End file.
